No polio cases reported in TN since 2004, says Collector

T. P. Poonachi, Minister for Khadi and Village Industries handing over the 'End Polio Now' jacket to Rotary District Governor S. Gopal at the workshop on routine immunization programmes in Tiruchi on Saturday. Photo: M. Moorthy

Pulse Polio campaigns organised across the State by involving service organisations, including the Rotary International, has had a tremendous impact over the years with no polio cases reported since 2004, Collector Jayashree Muralidharan said on Saturday.

The immunisation campaigns had been successful in Tamil Nadu with field-level workers conducting door-to-door checks and administering polio drops to children aged less than five, the Collector said at a workshop on Routine Immunisation Programme organised jointly by the National Polio Plus Committee, Tamil Nadu Health Services, and Rotary International District 3000 here.

The Health Department had launched a vaccination drive covering migrant children so that there were no polio cases, the Collector said. Tamil Nadu and Kerala were in the forefront in public health care sector, she added.

Minister for Khadi and Village Industries T.P. Poonachi said the State government had been implementing various schemes in the health and other sectors for the benefit of the people. Chief whip in the Legislative Assembly R. Manoharan said public cooperation was a reason for the success of the Pulse Polio campaign in the State.